Archimonde
Archimonde the Defiler was once one of the leaders of the Eredar, though he allowed himself to be corrupted by the Titan Sargeras. Due to his cunning, brutal personality it did not take long for Archimonde to become one of the leaders of the Burning Legion. He was also arrogant, and quick to anger. Though he was often forgiving of the failures of his underlings, the very idea of incurring his wrath was enough to encourage his underlings not to fail. History 25,000 years ago Archimonde was one of the three leaders of the world of Argus, alongside Kil'jaeden and the Prophet Velen. The three ruled over the Eredar until Sargeras contacted them, promising power in return for their loyalty. Neither Kil'jaeden or Archimonde hesitated to accept the offer, though Velen took his followers and fled. Archimonde was placed in charge of the Burning Legion's military invasions. Beneath him served Dreadlords, Pit Lords, Doomguards, and other races of demons suitable for warfare. He developed a hierarchy for his branch of the Legion, and began his conquest of other worlds. War of the Ancients Fifteen thousand years later, the reckless use of Arcane energies by Queen Azshara and her fellow Highborne Kaldorei attracted the attention of Sargeras. Archimonde, Mannoroth, and Hakkar the Houndmaster launched a catastrophic invasion of Azeroth. Thousands of demons poured through a portal beneath the Well of Eternity, destroying everything in their path. The Druid Malfurion Stormrage gathered together an army to stand against the demons -- Kaldorei, Cenarius and his woodland allies, and the Dragonflights led by Alexstrasza. They managed to destabilize the portal, causing the Sundering of the world but banishing the demonic entities back into the Twisting Nether. Corruption of the Orcs Archimonde had never been defeated before, and this only drove him to want the destruction of Azeroth even more. For ten thousand years he brooded, schemed, and plotted his revenge. It was Kil'jaeden who found the means. He used the Orcs Ner'zhul and Gul'dan, corrupting them and spreading the demonic influence to the rest of their race. Eventually the world of Draenor was awash with blood as war swept over it. The Orcs were to serve as the Legion's weapon against both the Draenei and the world of Azeroth. A portal was opened from Draenor to Azeroth, and the Orcs invaded the human Kingdom of Stormwind. Ultimately, after two wars, the Orcs were defeated and the world of Draenor was all but destroyed. Kil'jaeden transformed Ner'zhul into the Lich King and sent him spiraling to Azeroth, where he would create the undead Scourge and succeed where the Orcs had failed. In the mean time, Archimonde would launch another invasion. He was summoned to Azeroth by Kel'Thuzad, who stole the Book of Medivh from Dalaran. Demons fell to earth through the summoning, lending their aid to the unholy Scourge who were making short work of Lordaeron. The first thing that Archimonde did was replace the Scourge's leadership with Tichondrius. Unbeknownst to the powerful Eredar, the Lich King was prepared for this. Meanwhile, Archimonde set to work destroying the city of Dalaran. Between the Burning Legion and the Scourge, Lordaeron was laid to waste. Even more hordes of demons were summoned, but they soon discovered the Orcs were missing. Unwilling to let them live, the Burning Legion followed them across the Great Sea and discovered them on the continent of Kalimdor -- engaging in war with the Night Elves who had banished them so long ago. Mannoroth concocted a scheme to recorrupt the Orcs and use them to destroy the demigod Cenarius. The plan seemed successful at first -- Grom Hellscream was corrupted and driven, with his Warsong Clan, to slay the ancient being. Unfortunately, he broke free of his corruption and sacrificed himself to slay Mannoroth and permanently end the demonic sway held over his race. Archimonde, however, considered this a success. He had desired the death of Cenarius all along. He launched the invasion of Kalimdor immediately, openly confronting his Night Elf enemies. Tyrande Whisperwind, leader of the Night Elf Sentinels and a priestess of Elune, awoke the sleeping druids of the Cenarion Circle. The invasion was combatted on many fronts, by the Alliance, the Horde, and the Night Elves but little seemed to slow the demons. Tichondrius, under Archimonde's orders, corrupted the forests of Ashenvale with the Skull of Gul'dan. Then, the Legion's first real setback occurred when the rogue Night Elf Illidan Stormrage stole the skull and used it to slay Tichondrius. Unconcerned, Archimonde placed Anetheron and Rage Winterchill in charge of the Scourge. The forces opposing the Burning Legion banded together as Archimonde began his final assault, on the World Tree Nordrassil itself. The humans, Orcs, Tauren, and Night Elves managed to slow his ascent -- which proved to be enough. Malfurion Stormrage used the Horn of Cenarius to summon forth Wisps called the Ancestral Spirits to destroy Archimonde. He was successfully destroyed, loosing a powerful explosion. The Burning Crusade The Infinite Dragonflight infiltrated the Caverns of Time five years later. The Bronze Dragonflight sent adventurers into various timelines to protect them, including into the Battle of Mount Hyjal. Here, they too battle Archimonde and ensured that he really would be destroyed by the Ancestral Spirits. Canon Images Archimondeface.jpg|Archimonde's face in Warcraft III Real World Archimonde is a villain who appears in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. He appears in the novels World of Warcraft: Rise of the Horde, World of Warcraft: Arthas: Rise of the Lich King, and in the trilogy Warcraft: War of the Ancients. External Links *Wowpedia *WoWWiki Category:Warcraft III Characters Category:Burning Crusade Characters Category:Man'ari Eredar Characters Category:Burning Legion Members Category:Argus Triumvirate Members Category:Inhabitants of Argus Category:Warcraft Villains Category:Warcraft Warlock Characters